In the Dark of the Night
by Vancha'sPrincess
Summary: Kimberly Rose Benson only wants to fit in. Moving to a new school is never easy, especially not when you already have someone who hates you. *Disney owns the Incredibles, not me!)


The Incredibles:

In the Dark of the Night

Chapter 1:

"Wake up sugarplum, it's your first day of school!" her father's enthusiasm stirred Kim from what had been one of the only solid sleeps she had been able to get in months.

Pulling the covers over her head, she nestled further into the warmth of her bed, "Five more minutes." she grumbled sleepily. She felt her father's hands searching for the top of the covers to pull them back, forcing Kimberly to tighten her grip on them more.

"Five more minutes? Come on you have had a whole eight and a half hours to sleep. Get up!" her father demanded light heartedly. His daughter growled something uncomprehensible and refused to move. Thinking hard, her father finally thought of a way to wake her up. Reaching under the covers, he managed to get a hand on her side, squeezing gently.

A loud squeal made him jump as his daughter bolted upright. "I'm up!" she snapped, only half meaning it. "That wasn't fair!" Kim moaned, shivering from the early morning chill.

"Life isn't fair, but I love you anyways." her father told her lovingly, kissing her forehead before heading back down the stairs that led up to Kim's attic room. Kim glowered at his back before hauling herself up and out of the bed. It was to be her first day at her new school. It was the start of the second marking period of her senior year and she was dreading it.

It was going to be hard being the new kid, Kim believed. She had never fit into any cliques, keeping to herself and favoring the sciences and those clubs. She had recently died her jet black bangs a pale blue, giving her a somewhat anime appearance. It had driven her mother insane. Deciding she had better look presentable, Kim pulled a frilly white blouse and skinny jeans out of her closet. "Otherwise Mom will make me change into a dress or something." the senior thought to herself as she pulled on her favorite boots to complete her outfit.

Kim sauntered down the stairs. She found her mother in the kitchen making pancakes for Kim's younger sister, Bethany. "Oh my, look how pretty you look!" her mother fussed when Kim entered the kitchen. The eighteen year old pulled a face.

"Mooom! Don't make a fuss. I've worn this outfit before." Kim pointed out. Her mother sighed.

"I know, but not as often as you should. I should buy you more clothes like that." her mother noted, placing a man hole cover sized pancake on Bethany's plate. The eight year old dug into it happily, her cheeks out like a chipmunk. Kimberly shuddered at the thought of more frilly clothes but said nothing, not wanting to upset her mother.

"Don't smother her with fluff Vivian." her father intervened, knowing his eldest daughter's disdain for girly clothing attire. Vivian made a face but didn't push it as her husband kissed her on the cheek. "I'll be home late tonight, we really have to form a solid case on this one." he told his wife.

"Fine, but please don't be too late, Rodger." Vivian pleaded gently, walking her husband to the door. Rodger kissed both his children on the head before hurrying out the door to go work at his weapons industry. He was a distrubutor of weaponry the military and other smaller departments of defense such as police departments and the like.

Kimberly pulled a yogurt from the refridgerator and a bottle of water. She quickly slipped her laptop bag over her shoulder. "I should probably be off too Mom. I don't want to be late." she said, snatching her car keys off the key rack in the foyer. Her mother scurried after her.

"Ok! Have a good day. You have money for lunch? All your notebooks and folders? Everything you need?" Vivian tallied off a mental list quickly. Kim smiled reassuringly.

"Yes Mom. I have the ten dollars you gave me yesterday. I have my laptop for notes and the like and my cell phone in my pocket." Kim assured her, kissing her cheek affectionately before running out to her car. It was a blue 1967 Mustang Convertible. It had been her father's and when she got her license, he had made it a gift. She loved that car.

The Metroville High parking lot was crowded with students of all ages. Kim circled the lot a few times before she found her designated parking space at the front of the lot. She pulled in, careful to avoid the group of soccer players huddled around a Jeep Wrangler. The group looked at the new girl and her classic car and snickered amongst themselves. Kimberly shot them a quick glare before following the flow of students into the school.

"Kimberly Rose Benson?" a small voice called anxiously over the hum of the students.

"That's me!" she called back, looking through the wave for the owner of the voice. A stout woman with thick brunetter hair, pulled back in a tight bun, waded through the students, stopping in front of Kimberly. The woman was dressed in a crisp steel colored suit. Her coke bottle glasses made her eyes appear ten times larger than they actually were.

"Ah, Ms. Benson, I am Principal Stitly. Please, follow me to my office. We will get you your schedule and your guide for the day." Principal Stitly greeted her kindly. Kimberly nodded, following her into a small corner office. The room itself was cold and not at all personalized. There were no pictures of family or friends, no pet photos to be seen. There were no posters on the white washed walls. The desk was a dark wood with a black computer and a gray pencil holder resting on top of it. As the pair entered, the principal gestured to the firm looking chair in front of the desk.

Sitting, Kim felt a chill run up her spine. "It's so cold in here!" she thought, tucking her hands under her legs for warmth. She felt a slow wave of heat wash over her body. "No." she sucked in a soft breath and forced her mind to blank. The heat subsided into a comfortable warmth.

"Now, here is your schedule. AP Physics first period, then Advanced Technology education second. Gym will be your third period. AP Calculus fourth. AP French fifth then you will have lunch. After that, you have no further classes so you may sign out if you wish or relax in the library for the other three periods. Or my favorite, study." Stitly smiled to show she had made a joke. Kim forced a laugh, not wanting to appear rude.

Kim took the piece of paper that the principal offered her, her scheduled scrawled on it. "Uhm, I have a job that I do after school. Could I move my hours to occupy those three periods if I want?"

The principal nodded. "Of course. Those periods are your's." she answered sweetly. The princcipal then walked over to the phone that hung on the wall. Pressing several buttons, she dialed for someone to send a boy by the name of Buddy Pines to her office. Kim assumed this boy would be her guide for the day.

"Hopefully he's really nice." she hoped silently, "I could use a familiar face around here."

After hanging up the phone, the principal sat back down. "Now, Mr. Pines is a senior as you are. I am sure you will have many classes together. He will be down shortly." Stitly explained enthusiastically. Then, her expression grew more serious. "I want you to know no one has been informed of why you have transferred here. I and the case worker that relocated you here are the only ones to know about your... special needs. I want to try and prevent an incident here understand?" Principal Stitly's voice was stern and cool.

"I understand ma'am." Kim nodded her agreement, "I-"

The door opened, interrupting Kim's answer. A tall, barrel chested young man entered the office. He had short ginger hair that stood up in the front. His icy green blue eyes focused on the principal over his freckled cheeks. His tight black t-shirt and jeans made his hair stand out all that much more.

"Whatever it is I didn't do it... this time." the young man grumbled, looking right at the principal.

The principal remained calm and composed. "Guilty conscience?"

The young man looked uneasy for a split second before smirking, "Not at all. If I am not in trouble, what am I doing down here?" he demanded, sounding as if he was interrupted from important work. Principal Stitly walked from behind the desk and stood behind Kim's chair.

"Mr. Pines, this is our new student, Ms. Kimberly Benson. Ms. Benson, this is your guide for the day, Mr. Buddy Pines." she introduced the two seniors to one another.

Kimberly stood, offering a hand out to Buddy. Buddy just looked at the hand, back to it's owner and then settled on the principal again. "Guide? I don't have time to babysit the new girl!" he growled. Kim felt a pang of hurt and withdrew her hand.

Stitly reacted before Kimberly could say anything. She grabbed Buddy firmly by the arm and hauled him back out of the office, protesting. Kimberly sighed, disappointed that she still wouldn't have a friendly face to turn to if she needed help. There was a small commotion out in the hall between the principal and Buddy. After several moments of arguing, the principal reentered her office. "He's ready to take you to your first class, which you have together actually." Stitly informed her. Kim picked up her bag and thanked the principal for her help.

Buddy was leaned up against the wall, looking like he was ready to rip someone's head off. "Thank you for showing me around today." she murmurred as she walked over to him. He said nothing, only began walking down the hall towards what the map in Kim's hand said was the 500 wing. Kimberly followed after him, having to speed walk in order to keep up with her unwilling guide.

The science labs were all the way at the end of the 500 wing. The teacher in room 502 was a tall, lean, bald man in a white lab coat and protective goggles. "Ah, welcome! Welcome! Thank you Buddy for bringing our dear new student here safely!" the teacher drawled, smiling warmly at Kimberly.

Buddy just nodded and went to his seat. "I am Mr. Atomano, your AP Physics teacher. You may take that seat over there next to Drake." Mr. Atomano instructed not unkindly. Kim smiled and walked over to the young man with brunette hair. He was clearly a jock, probably a football player. Drake smiled charmingly as she sat down at his lab table.

His smile made Kim's heart skip a beat. It was like a pop star or movie star smile. "Hi." Kim managed to get out.

"Hi. My name's Drake, Drake Hanson." Drake introduced himself, offering her a hand.

"I-I'm Kimberly Benson. I guess we're lab partners then?" she asked stupidly.

Drake laughed softly, "Yeah, for the semester at least. I look forward to working with you." he said. Kim nodded and turned as the teacher began his class. Out of the corner of her eye, Kim could see Buddy, glowering over at her.

"What is his deal?" she thought angrily, "It's not my fault he's a jerk."

After a few minutes of explaining the task, Mr. Atomano gave the students the task of getting to know one another. They could have the rest of class to talk to one another but must report six interesting facts to Mr. Atomano at the end of class on the way out. With that, they were set free.

Drake was one of the first to get up. "Come on, I'll introduce you to my friends." he told her, offering her help up. Kim accepted his invitation and followed him over to a group of nicely dressed teenagers. The three boys in the group of five were wearing football jackets.

"Drake, where's your jacket? Coach will kill you if you left it home today! Today is team pictures!" one of the boys exclaimed as the pair approached. Drake laughed heartily.

"Well then, I guess you guys will have to find yourselves a new QB huh?" Drake fist bumped one of the other boys and turned back to Kim, "Guys, this is Kimberly. She's the new girl."

The group's focused turned onto the outsider, making her increasingly uneasy. "H-Hi." she squeaked.

There were two girls in the group. One was a platinum blonde in a crisp white tennis skirt and pink IZOD polo shirt. The girl next to her was a brunette and dressed in the same outfit, only in green and white. They didn't look pleased at the intrusion of someone new.

"Did you just move here or what?" the blond asked.

The dark haired boy kissed the blond's head gently, "Play nice Karen." he soothed. Karen rolled her eyes.

"Uhm... yeah. We moved here in June." Kim answered softly, suddenly intimidated by this Karen. Deciding to avoid getting too uncomfortable, Kim excused herself and went over to Mr. Atomano and asked to use the bathroom. Kim locked herself in the farthest stall from the door and curled up into a ball. The teachers were nice and all, but the students were not as friendly. Although, Drake was nice. He even tried to introduce her to his friends.

Kimberly lost track of time as she sat, avoiding going back to class. The bell shrilled over head, echoing through the bathroom. Sighing, she got to her feet, grabbed her bag and left the bathroom. Her first thought was to find Buddy, but he didn't strike her as wanting to be found.

"There you are!" a familiar voice snapped from behind her. Kim turned to find her guide shoving through the hall towards her. "Had enough of Drake I assume? Beings you hid all period in the girls' bathroom. It's probably for the best. Drake is trouble." Buddy smiled, slightly amused.

"Shut up." Kim warned, "Drake was nicer in that ten minutes than you have been all morning! So you shut up about him!" she exploded.

Buddy stared at her, stunned by the outburst. It took him a few seconds to gather his thoughts, "Fine then, don't listen to me! See where that gets you."


End file.
